Boeing and Oerlikon join forces on 3D printing

Boeing and Oerlikon signed a five-year collaboration agreement to drive the use of 3D printing in the aerospace industry. According to a statement announcing the partnership, their goal is to develop standard materials and processes for 3D-printed titanium aerospace parts. 

The two partners also want to develop a method for qualifying products from other additive manufacturing suppliers to ensure that the parts made meet the requirements of the respective authorities.  

Boeing has been a leader in researching and implementing 3D printing in the aerospace industry since 1997 and now has some 50,000 3D-printed parts in its commercial and military aircraft as well as in aerospace programmes. It was also the first aerospace manufacturer to design and install a Federal Aviation Administration-qualified, 3D-printed structural titanium part on a commercial aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner.

Oerlikon, a global technology group headquartered in the canton of Schwyz, is pushing ahead with the expansion of its additive manufacturing division. In 2016 it acquired the German additive materials company citim GmbH. It has also entered into several research partnerships in the field of 3D printing.